A Tale of Two Scarves
A Tale of Two Scarves is the sixth episode and season finale of the first season of the British online comedy-drama web series ''Writers'', and the sixth episode overall. It was originally released on YouTube on March 14th 2015. In the episode, the group gather to celebrate Hugh's birthday party. As tensions arise between Clarice and the others, Jess must finally confront her feelings for Emmett. As with the other season one episodes, the episode was written and directed by series creator Adam T Cottle. It features the final guest appearance of Liz Stewart as Clarice Sparrow, as well as the first appearance of Emily Thompson as Hugh's sister Jo. The episode was heavily promoted prior to it's release, with the first promo appearing as a post-credits tag on the previous episode. Plot The group gather for Hugh's 19th birthday party and exchange gifts. From Daisy, Hugh receives an elegant red scarf, which he shows great appreciation for. Meanwhile, Daisy is still angry with Barney about his secret trip to Bournemouth, refusing to talk with him about the situation. Clarice arrives at the party and presents Hugh with a new present; a scarf, almost identical to Daisy's. Hugh ditches Daisy's scarf in favour of Clarice's, angering Daisy. Hugh later explains to Emmett that he wants to return his original gift scarf, as he consider's Clarice's scarf to be superior to Daisy's, claiming "there can be only one". Elsewhere, Jess - still reeling from the revelation of her feelings for Emmett - is growing increasingly jealous of Emmett and Clarice's relationship. In an attempt to make Emmett jealous in return, Hugh dances with Jess in a provocative style to Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat". Barney and Daisy finally sit down and discuss their future. Daisy recalls the events of her and Barney's first encounter; Barney, drunk, accidentally vomited on Daisy's shoes at her 16th birthday party. In remorse, he spent the night finding an identical pair of shoes, giving them to her the following morning before taking her out for coffee as an apology. Daisy reveals that she's decided to go with Barney. The two then ponder on how to break the news to the others. After her dance with Hugh, Emmett offers to dance with her. Initially the dance is awkward, as Emmett is still oblivious to Jess' feelings for him. However, as the pair relax into their dance, it becomes apparent the feelings flow both ways, and the two come close to kissing at the dance's conclusion. They are interrupted by a clapping Clarice, who is apparently unaware of what is happening. She and Emmett go inside to watch TV while Hugh comforts Jess. While watching TV, Clarice accidentally offends Emmett by insulting his favourite TV show, Doctor Who. Emmett takes Clarice outside to break up with her while the others watch. Clarice reacts badly, beating Emmett with her bag. Daisy intervenes, telling Clarice to go. Clarice takes her gift back from Hugh before leaving, much to the joy of everyone else. Later that night, the group are gathered on the patio. Hugh leaves first, taking Daisy's scarf with him. Daisy and Barney then head up, leaving Jess and Emmett alone. Jess sits next to Emmett on the patio swing. Emmett reflects on his relationship with Clarice, commenting on how his life has "strayed from the plan". Jess replies that, though that may be true, his new course is "so much better". Over Jess' monologue, the character story lines of the season are wrapped up. Hugh discards his large collection of scarves, replacing them with his single new red one, looking upon his only scarf with a smile. Daisy and Barney lie in bed happily as Barney sees the shoes he bought Daisy on the floor. Jess, after finishing her monologue, looks across at Emmett. The two lean in to kiss each other, before the screen suddenly smashes to black. In a post-credits scene, a drunk Jenny dances as Jo watches on. Title Reference The episode is named after A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The title references Hugh's choice between a scarf given to him by Daisy, and another given to him by Clarice. It also references the choice Emmett must make between Clarice and Jess. Production The episode was written and directed by series creator and executive producer Adam T Cottle. It features the third and presumably final appearance of Liz Stewart as Clarice Sparrow. It is the second-longest episode of the season and of the series, coming in at 31 minutes. The longest episode to date is ''Interview with the Writer'', which ran for 33 minutes. Release The episode was released on March 14th 2015 at 10pm GMT. It was preceded by a heavy promotional campaign that began with a video promo that was attached the the closing credits of the previous episode, ''On the Road''. Posters for each central character were released, alongside a central poster for the finale. Reception The episode received critical acclaim, with many viewers considering it the high point of the season. As of May 20th 2015 the episode has 31 thumbs up to 1 thumb down. Much of the episode's praise went towards the performance of the cast, the script, it's attention to each individual character thread, and it's concluding cliffhanger.